Dr M calling DAP multiracial shocks Ramasamy 'beyond belief'

The war of words between ex-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and former Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy has escalated with the latter saying he is shocked beyond belief that Mahathir is now holding up DAP as an example of a multiracial party.

In a statement today, Ramasamy (above) also said Mahathir lacks the credentials to reprimand Indians for being disloyal when he was primarily responsible for the ethnic, religious and social divisions.

“I am shocked beyond belief that Mahathir who never had good words for the DAP in the past is now trying to defend the party as multiracial. In the past, he used the gullible DAP to bring down the government of Najib Abdul Razak,” he said.

Ramasamy resigned from DAP in August 2023 just before the state elections, saying the party was anything but multiracial.

“Rather, multiracialism was used by the party with token presence of Indian and Malay leaders to propagate its own political agenda that revolved around power, positions and appeasement or ‘stooge politics’.

“Hence, I left the party not because it was multiracial but on the contrary it had nothing to do with multiracialism,” he said.

Open to all Malaysians

He said he was in the process of registering Urimai (Tamil for rights) and that although it is an Indian Tamil-based political party, its membership is open to all Malaysians concerned about the erosion of democratic human rights in the country.

“In this sense, Urimai is not a racial party, but a party that will be formed to address the plight of Indian poor and the marginalised, without losing sight of the rights of other ethnic groups,” said Ramasamy, who described himself as a patriotic Malaysian.

He said he criticised Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for excluding Indian Tamil ministers from the current cabinet because others appeared to be chosen based on racial considerations and quotas.

“If cabinet appointments are based on racial considerations, what is so wrong in asking for the appointments of Indian Tamil ministers to reflect the communal composition of the Indian community?

“If Chinese and Malay ministers are appointed on ethnic considerations, why should Indian Tamils be satisfied with only ‘Malaysian ministers’ irrespective of race and religion?” asked Ramasamy.

Row over absence of Indian minister

Yesterday, Mahathir singled out Ramasamy for forming a race-based party and took issue with the uproar over there being no Indian minister in the cabinet anymore.

“A non-Indian minister is still a Malaysian minister. As Malaysians there is no reason why there not being an Indian minister is not (sic) a problem.

“If not having an Indian minister in the cabinet is seen as unfair, then it must be because Ramasamy is still loyal to the Indian race.

“This means Ramasamy is a racist who fights not only for Malaysia but also for those of Indian descent.

“Ramasamy always accuses me of being racist. But when he left a multiracial party, he went on to form an Indian party,” said Mahathir.

Like others, the former DAP leader had taken issue with Mahathir’s insinuation that Indians were not loyal Malaysians, claiming they still identify with their country of origin and speak Tamil primarily.

The former premier argued that one should identify as Malay and speak Malay as their primary language to have the right to call the country their own.

“Such a chauvinistic view can only come from Mahathir, the person responsible for the present divisive politics in the country,” Ramasamy had said.

“I am an Indian Tamil of Hindu faith. I was born and brought up in this country. I speak and write in the Malay language very well. Malay was the language that I used in my lectures when I was an academic at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

“My three children went to national schools where the language of instruction was Malay. They have done well in their careers.

“We are loyal citizens of this country. I might not agree with the policies of the governments in power, but this has nothing to do with my loyalty to the nation,” he said.